DENVER – Rockies No. 2/MLB Pipeline No. 71 prospect Charlie Condon is swinging a productive bat -- and, figuratively, one sharp No. 2 pencil.
Entering Friday night, Condon had produced a .343/.425/.971 slash line over his previous nine games with Triple-A Albuquerque, with six home runs, four walks, 16 RBIs -- and triples in the last two of those games. Considered a first baseman initially, Condon has received opportunities in right field.
He appeared there in six of the seven games before Friday. Four of his five outfield assists came over the weekend, two Saturday and two Sunday.
As Condon checks player development boxes, does he erase reasons not to introduce him to the Majors?
“He knows, because we shared it with him in Spring Training, that when we bring him, it’s going to be with the idea that he’s really ready -- his foundation is solid,” Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said Friday afternoon. “It’s that he’s ready not to just survive at this level.
“An example is [third baseman] Kyle Karros. Kyle had a strong foundation coming into the season. Though he didn’t put up big numbers in April and May, his foundational numbers stayed really strong. That gave him the chance to start to take off as the season has gone on, and now we’ve seen the last three or four weeks he’s been extremely brilliant.”
COMPLETE ROCKIES PROSPECT COVERAGE
Condon put one of the biggest questions to rest early.
In 20 games during his first Major League Spring Training, Condon batted .385 with three home runs, and tied for third on the team with nine RBIs. Still, with Condon having had just 640 professional plate appearances (Minor League and Arizona Fall League), the Rockies were not about to let a hot spring sway their plan.
Condon started Albuquerque’s season hot before slumping for nearly a month -- a .163 batting average over 108 plate appearances with no home runs and five RBIs from April 19 to May 17. Even then, he walked 17 times during the downturn to maintain a .315 on-base percentage. But Condon went 2-for-5 with two doubles at Las Vegas on May 19. Between then and Thursday, just twice did he have consecutive games without a hit -- one two-game and one three-game hitless period. The damage and the on-base performance continued.
“Being able to make adjustments is critical, especially at this level,” DePodesta said. “It’s constantly making adjustments to what your opponents are doing. The fact he has shown that he can do that already in Triple-A is a real credit to him. It’s also a really important part of development.”
The recent call-up of Cole Carrigg from Triple-A Albuquerque was instructive. With Mickey Moniak (right ankle tendinitis), Brenton Doyle (left oblique strain) and Jordan Beck (left hamstring strain) all out, there was daily playing time available to Carrigg -- who has started all 10 games since joining the club.
The Rockies are more crowded in the corners, and soon injured players will be returning. Friday was scheduled as the second of Moniak’s three rehab games at Albuquerque. Also, rookie TJ Rumfield has established himself at first base, Condon’s other position.
“We have high-class problems right now, in terms of outfield depth,” DePodesta said. “I’m really happy -- a lot of guys are playing well enough to deserve to be here.
“With most of these guys, we would want to make sure that they have real opportunity. It’s hard enough to adjust to the big leagues for the first time. It’s even harder if they’re not playing a lot.”